TRAIL REVIEW - Sykes Hot Springs

TRAIL REVIEW - SYKES HOT SPRINGS

One of the cemented rock pools at Sykes Hot Springs

Overall Rating:∑ ∑ ∑ ∑	Bathrooms: new pit toilets on route and at Sykes Camp
Difficulty: moderate	Best times of Year: Any
Distance: 20 miles roundtrip	Water: plenty of sources along trail and at camp
Dog : Y off leash	Elevation Gain: 2380'
Solitude: not much	Elevation Loss: 1490'
Map: Wilderness Press

Directions: Take the 101 North to San Luis Obispo. Then Take the 1 North towards Big Sur. Turn right at Pheiffer Big Sur State Park also known as Big Sur Station. Park at the trailhead, prepay $5 per night (bring exact change), good until 3:00 p.m. the next day. 

Review: This is a very nice albeit busy Pine Ridge trail from Big Sur Station to Sykes Hot Springs located in the Ventana Wilderness Area of the Los Padres National Forest. However, it is pretty far away from Los Angeles. If  you are going to do this as a weekend trip you either need to spend Friday and part of Sunday traveling or leave at the butt crack of dawn.

The trail starts out in a shaded forest with a very serious uphill in the first couple of miles. Then it continues going up and down for several miles.  We didn't check it out but Ventana Camp is supposed to have an excellent swimming hole, but the camp is located approximately one mile significantly downhill from the main trail. If we had managed to get on the trail earlier I think we could have been convinced to check it out for a refreshing dip after the difficult hill.  A halfway point at Terrace Creek camp is an excellent place to stop for lunch. Terrace Creek had a nice new box pit toilet when we were there in October '10.  Most of the trail was fairly shaded making this an ideal hot springs hike for hotter weather. Additionally, a lot of people had their dogs they are specifically allowed on this trail because although the trail head starts on State Park land the national forest permits dogs on its trails.

Many people prefer to camp in at Barlow Flat Camp and then dayhike it to the Sykes Hot springs. This can be nice when Sykes camp is crowded like in the summer time and of course ditching the weight of your main pack can really help the last couple of miles float away.

We chose to hike all the way to Sykes camp itself and camped on the other side of the Big Sur River. We could have camped closer to the hot springs themselves as there were many campsites on the same side of the river and closer to the hot springs. However, we were concerned that we might have to deal with late night hot spring enthusiasts.

Sykes camp itself has several places to camp with cement fire pits, however fire restrictions were in effect when we visited so we couldn't have a campfire. In addition you need to obtain a campfire permit from the Los Padres National Forest  in order to use a camping stove. There were pretty new wood box pit toilets on both sides of the Big Sur River. They didn't have walls but were situated in places where you had some natural cover.

SYKES HOT SPRINGS:

First Pool

The Natural Hot Springs themselves are around 100 degrees. The springs come out on the side of the river. You have to head  upstream on the side of the Big Sur River you were on before arriving at Sykes Camp approximately a quarter of a mile to reach the Hot Springs. We had to wade in at several locations to cross repeatedly so bring sandals for crossings. When higher waters are present it might be impossible to cross at any point without some swimming.

Second Rockpool

There are three fairly well maintained rockpools in which to soak. The first one could comfortably hold one couple at a time. It was cemented river rock with some sandbags and included a nice Valve at the bottom allowing for the pool to be drained.

There was a second slightly larger river rock cemented pool further down. It also had a valve which would allow it to be drained.

The third pool was the largest and located out of sight above the second pool. This one could accomodate about 5-6 people comfortably. However, this large pool did not have any kind of valve so the water could get rather grimy. It wouldn't be that hard to empty it out with a bucket if one were so inclined.

One word of note is that the general policy seems to be that the hot springs are clothing optional. We are not sure whether that is some sort of official policy or rather just a practicality issue that it would be impossible to enforce a nudity ban. So you may encounter some nudity as we did but most people were fairly respectful and not trying to be in your face about it. There was absolutely no pressure to go in the nude.

The return trip  was pleasant seemingly a good deal easier then the hike in with less uphill.

Nepenthe Big Sur Restaurant offers spectacular Ocean views

A nice side trip afterward is to go grab lunch at Nepenthe Big Sur  which offers spectacular views of the Ocean and cliffs surrounding Big Sur. Its located about 5 to 10 miles south of Big Sur Station on Highway One.

Additional information about the hike to Sykes Hotsprings.

Also it is featured as trip 14 on page 74 of the latest edition of Wilderness Press's great book Backpacking California.